Edible compositions having a poultry meat flavor and processes for making same

ABSTRACT

Processes for imparting a poultry meat flavor to foodstuffs comprising adding thereto a small amount of a processed product of (I) of enzymatic digest of the whole internal contents of a poultry egg or an enzymatic digest of egg white or an enzymatic digest of egg yolk, (II) a sulfur compound such as cysteine or taurine and, if desired, (preferably) (III) thiamine and/or thiazole alkanols and (IV) other free amino acids and/or polypeptides and, in addition, if desired, a monosaccharide and/or a disaccharide, such as sucrose and/or a polysaccharide; as well as flavoring compositions and flavor enhancing compositions containing such processed products and optional materials and the foodstuffs so obtained.

Breukink et al.

[451 Feb. 11, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS EDIBLE COMPOSITIONS HAVING A POULTRY MEAT FLAVOR AND PROCESSES FOR MAKING SAME Inventors: Karel W. Breukink; Michel Van Praag, both of Hilversum, Netherlands International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., New York, NY.

Filed: Nov. 8, 1972 Appl. No.: 304,805

Assignee:

U.S. Cl 426/211, 426/212, 326/222, 426/348, 426/364, 426/224 Int. Cl A23l 1/26 Field of Search 426/65, 74, 175, 211, 212, 426/221, 222, 224, 364, 442

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1968 Giacino ..426/65 7/1968 Giacino 4/1972 South Africa Primary Examiner--Raymond N. Jones Assistant ExaminerEsther L. Massung Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Arthur L. Liberman, Esq.; Harold Haidt, Esq.

Processes for imparting a poultry meat flavor to foodstuffs comprising adding thereto a small amount of a processed product of (I) of enzymatic digest of the whole internal contents of a poultry egg or an enzymatic digest of egg white or an enzymatic digest of egg yolk, (II) a sulfur compound such as cysteine or taurine and, if desired, (preferably) (111) thiamine and/or thiazole alkanols and (IV) other free amino acids and- /or polypeptides and, in addition, if desired, a monosaccharide and/or a disaccharide, such as sucrose and- /or a polysaccharide; as well as flavoring compositions and flavor enhancing compositions containing such processed products and optional materials and the foodstuffs so obtained.

ABSTRACT 4 Claims, No Drawings 1 2 EDIBLE COMP ITION HAVING A POULTRY However, none of the foregoing references, disclos- MEAT FLAVOR AND PROCESSES FOR MAKING ing processed food flavoring materials, discloses the SAME production of a natural poultry meat-flavored material BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 5 from reactants free of meat and wherein one of the reactants is an enzymatic digest of egg yolk, egg white or This invention relates to flavoring foodstuffs, to comh i l contents f an entire poultry egg, and Positions of flavoring foodstuffs, and to the Products 50 other of the key reactants is a sulfur-containing com- Obtainedpound. Although the above-mentioned South African Much attention has been de o l0 improving the Patent Application No. 70/4725 describes reaction flavor of foodstuffs and particularly the flavors of meat products h i ne reactant is an enzymatic digest of products, fruits and confectioneries. There is also a h contents f egg and an ther reactant is a mixture need to Prcwide compositions and Processes for of amino acids, e.g., hydrolyzed vegetable protein, the Proving the flavors of Poultry meat products Such as reaction product disclosed is a meat extract flavor patties containing chicken meat or duck meat or turkey th th a ltr meat flavor and, no sulfurmeat, or for providing savory poultry flavors to foods containing compound is set forth as one of the reaccontaining no poultry meat 01' to po l ry meat PIOdUCIS' tants. In addition, thiamine or a salt thereof or a precur' having only a low le el Of fla orsor thereof is not included as one of the reactants.

A substantial number of investigations have been carried out relating to reacting such materials as amino THE INVENTION acids. y y e vegetable proteins, g sulfur- This invention relates to novel poultry flavoring com- COntflining mp n -g-, cysteine and y g positions and to processes for preparing them. Sulfide) and fibonucieotides in an effort t0 Produce Food products enhanced with poultry-like flavors are meaty tasting products including poultry meat tasting well-known and have long been used. There is considproducts, or ingredients therefor. Thus, for example, erable demand for poultry flavor products in which the the following publications set forth such reaction prodactual poultry meat, such as chicken, turkey, duck and ucts and methods for preparing same: the like is not needed or is actually undesirable. For ex- Publication Reactants (l) U.S. Patent 3,394,017 Poultry meat flavor produced by reacting thiamine and a mixture of amino acids (2) U.S. Patent 3,519,437 Poultry flavor produced by reacting thiamine and Z-aminoethane sulfonic acid.

carboxylic acid (8) German Often. 1,932,800 Hydrogen sulfide and a 4- hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofuran-3-one (9) U.S. Patent 2,918,376 Fish protein hydrolyzate and cysteine (l0) U.S. Patent 2,887,387 Fish protein hydrolyzate and saccharide Still other publications set forth reaction products ample, in the preparation of sauces and purees, the giving rise to meaty-tasting flavors, which reaction poultry flavor is desired, but it is necessary to cook with products are formed by admixing enzymatic digest of the desired poultry and then to remove the meat by proteinaceous substances with amino acids and/or sulstraining or some similar operation to obtain the final fur-containing compounds. Examples of such publicaproduct ready for use. tions are as follows:

Japanese Pat. No 7,213,092 Additionally, where weight, space and/or storage ca- Pat. 3,645,753 pability are problems, e.g., when a convenience food is Copending U.S. patent appln. Ser. No. 137,698, filed Prepared: the Presence P t l meat may on Apr. 26, 1971 be undesirable because it will deteriorate 1n storage and spoil the food. Moreover, there are occasions when sterilizing or otherwise preserving the natural product is extremely deleterious to the flavor of the natural ma- Still other publications set forth the use of enzymatic digests of eggs or the use of eggs themselves as food ingredients. Four of these publications are as follows:

Belgian Pat No. 773,155 terials and the desired natural flavor is lost. Belgian Pat. No. 773,156 United States Pat. Nos. 3,394,017 and 3,519,437 is Canadian Pat. No. 898,055 part, provided solutions to the aforementioned prob- Qanadian Pat. No. 898,056 lems by providing methods for the production of poultry flavors which contained a substantial number of the notes of natural poultry flavors but which did not contain actual meat products. However, these two patents do not teach techniques for producing highly intensified controlled meatless poultry flavors. By the word controlled is meant poultry flavors having either a duck meat flavor character or an intense turkey meat character or an intense chicken meat character or an intense quail meat character or an intense squab meat character. Although the two aforementioned publications gave rise to general poultry flavor applications, the high degree of control or intensity in conjunction with the nature of the specific particular poultry flavor was not taught therein. Furthermore, the aforesaid two patents did not teach a technique for duplicating the texture and mouthfeel of natural poultry meat flavors.

This invention provides methods for the production of controlled intense poultry flavors which are indistinguishable from the natural particular poultry flavor desired.

This invention also provides essentially natural particularly controlled poultry-flavored products which are suitable for incorporation into a wide range of foodstuffs.

This invention further provides meatless poultry flavors having a texture and mouthfeel which are indistinguishable from that of the natural particular poultry flavor desired.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description below taken in conjunction with the accompanying examples which illustrate certain preferred embodiments of this invention.

In one aspect of this invention, an edible flavor composition is produced by heating a reaction mixture of an enzymatic digest of a poultry egg yolk or a poultry egg white or the internal contents of an entire poultry egg with a sulfur-containing compound to produce a reaction product. This heating is carried out for a period of time sufficient to develop a flavor of poultry or fowl in the mixture. Depending on the particular nature of the egg used the resulting poultry meat flavor will be the flavor of the meat of the species which produced the egg. Thus, for example, where the egg yolk of duck egg is used, the resulting flavor will be that of duck meat. The same holds true where the egg white of duck eggs are used. The edible reaction products produced by this process are novel poultry flavoring materials, or

bases, and can also produce other sweet meaty flavor notes. Edible compositions having enhanced flavor and which comprise a food and the aforesaid reaction product are further contemplated by this invention. In addition, other reactants may be used to modify or augment the poultry flavor without changing in kind the resulting specific poultry flavor produced. Thus, for example, acid salts of thiamine in the reaction mixture will give rise to a more natural intense poultry flavor but will not bring about a change in the specific nature of the poultry flavor produced. Other materials that can be added in addition to or in lieu of thiamine are thiazole alkanols (which are, for example, thiamine precursors) such as those described in United States Pat. No. 3,681,088, issued on Aug. 1, 1972 and other free amino acids and polypeptides.

As described above, the invention, in its broad aspect involves heating a mixture comprising an enzymatic dicontents of an entire poultry egg and a sulfurcontaining compound at an elevated temperature for a period of time whereby a poultry meat flavor is developed. It is to be noted that the pre-mix composition, per se, possesses no poultry meat characteristics and hence our invention may be regarded as being in the discovery that at least one of the components of the contents of the particular poultry egg has the ability to impart specific poultry meat flavor nuances to a reaction flavor when employed as a reactive component with a sulfur compound and, optionally but preferably, thiamine or a thiamine salt or a precursor therefor a defined infra.

The term poultry egg is herein intended to mean a non-fertilized chicken egg, duck egg, turkey egg, squab egg, goose egg, quail egg and pheasant egg and the like, in their natural states or in their dried forms (e.g., freeze-dried eggs) or defatted egg yolks or in the form of solutions of said dried forms of poultry eggs.

The enzymatic digest of the poultry egg yolk or the poultry egg white, or the entire contents of the poultry egg is produced by admixing the aforementioned egg contents with an enzyme which can effect selective cleavage of the peptide bonds located in the molecular structure of the egg protein. Examples of such enzymes are as follows:

1. Papain 2. Pilzprotease S (produced G.m.b.H.,Darmstadt, Germany) 3. Rhozyme P l 1 (produced by Rohm & Haas G.m.b.H., Darmstadt, Germany) 4. Bromelin 5. Pepsin 6. Trypsin 7. .l-25 (produced by Rohm & Haas. lnc. of

Philadelphia, Pa.) 8. Protease 62 (produced by Rohm & Haas lnc. of

Philadelphia, Pa.)

9. HT Proteolytic 200 (produced by Marschall Division of Miles Laboratories lnc. Elkhart, Ind.)

l0. Fungal Protease (produced by Marschall Division of Miles Laboratories Inc. Elkhart, Ind.) l l. Prolase MT7820 (produced by Wallerstein Laboratories of Martin Grove, Ill.)

12. Molsin (produced by Seishin Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Noda Shiba, Japan) 13. Mylase l4. Bakterien Protease N (produced by Roehm G.m.b.H., Darmstadt, Germany) 15. Protease enzymes produced according to the processes set forth in German Offen. No. 2063988,

- published on July 28, 1972 and assigned to Henkel & Cie Gmbl-l;

Of all of the above-named fifteen enzymes, the most preferred from both a commercial standpoint and an organoleptic standpoint is papain. lt'is preferred when producing the enzymatic digest of the abovementioned poultry egg material to admix the enzyme with the egg contents at a temperature in the range of 40 up to C for a period of time of from 1 hour up to 5 hours. Periods of time greater than 5 hours and/or temperatures higher than 75C will give rise to a product which is less desirable forthe purposes of subsequent reaction with the sulfur-containing compound. On the other hand, temperatures below 40C and/or times of mixing by Roehm below one hour will give rise to a partially enzymatically digested egg product which will not be usable for the purpose of subsequent reaction with the sulfurcontaining compound in order to produce a material having mouthfeel and texture properties substantially identical to those properties of natural poultry flavors.

The term sulfur-containing compounds is intended to mean sulfur-containing amino acids which have the ability to liberate hydrogen sulfide when reacted, or lower alkyl mercaptans, or lower alkyl sulfides, or lower alkyl disulfides, or amino alkane sulfonic acids or salts thereof, e.g., the sodium salt of amino ethane sulfonic acid (taurine). The term sulfur-containing compounds may also include an inorganic sulfur compound or hydrogen sulfide itself, each of which is adapted to liberate a flavor under heating. Such inorganic sulfur compounds are designated herein as having the formula MS wherein M is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal (e.g., sodium or potassium), an alkaline earth metal (e.g., calcium or magnesium) and ammonium and S is selected from the group consisting of sulfide, polysulfide and sulfhydrate.

When hydrogen sulfide or a lower alkyl mercaptan is used, it is necessary to control the amount used so as to avoid overpowering the aroma of the product with the aroma of the mercaptan or the hydrogen sulfide. The lower alkyl mercaptans and sulfides preferably contain from 1 up to 6 carbon atoms. The lower alkyl disulfides preferably contain 1 to 3 carbon atoms. Cysteine and methionine and their acid salts, such as cysteine hydrochloride, are especially preferred sulfurcontaining amino acids. Especially preferred products resembling natural poultry flavor and having the natural texture and mouthfeel attributable to such natural poultry flavor are produced by means of first producing a papain enzymatic digest of a poultry egg yolk and then heating a mixture of such enzymatic digest with cysteine hydrochloride.

Cysteine and cystine are sulfur-containing amino acids readily available as free aminoacids or as salts, both acid and basic. Preferably, the acid salts, especially the halogen acid salts, such as the hydrochloride, are utilized. The inorganic sulfur-containing compounds mentioned above include sodium sulfhydrate and sodium sulfide. Instead of sodium compounds, corresponding compounds of potassium, calcium and ammonium or substituted ammonium may be used. Any such compound employed must be capable of reacting to give the desired specific natural poultry meat note.

Other organic sulfur-containing compounds useful in the practice of our invention include methyl mercaptan, ethyl mercaptan and propyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and methyl ethyl sulfide.

The term sulfur-containing compounds as used herein is not intended to include thiamine or thiamine precursors or acidic or basic. salts of thiamine. Such thiamine salts or precursors of thiamine or thiamine per se are used preferably in addition to the sulfurcontaining compounds" of our invention in the reaction mass.

Additional flavor nuances may be introduced into the reaction product of our invention by incorporating into the reaction mass prior to or during the heat reaction thiazole derivatives, such as, for example, thiamine hydrochloride and/or 4-methyl-5-(Bhydroxyethyl} thiazole. Instead of using thiamine hydrochloride, the thiamine may be used as a free base; but it is preferably employed as an acid salt and, indeed the hydrochloride is especially suitable. In addition, free amino acids, such as alanine, leucine, valine, glutamic acid and/or various polypeptides including dipeptides and tripeptides may also be added to the reaction mass prior to or during the heat reaction process. In addition, quantities of nucleotides may be added prior to, during or subsequent to the reaction between the sulfurcontaining compound and the enzymatic egg digest. The preferred nucleotides used in the practice of this invention are mixtures of disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate: In addition, prior to or during the reaction between the sulfur-containing compound and the enzymatic egg (or component thereof) digest, a quantity of a saccharide material such as d-xylose, ribose, sucrose, and dextrose may be added in order to modify the resulting poultry meat type flavor.

Lower alkyl carbonylic materials, such as ketones and alkyl aldehydes can be admixed into the reaction system during or subsequent to the heating step. It is generally preferred to add these materials after heating the reaction mass since they are generally volatile, and losses thereof may occur during the heating. The ketonic materials used in this aspect of the invention are preferably lower alkanones, and hydroxy-substituted alkanones containing from about 4 to 8 carbon atoms such as diacetyl, acetylmethylcarbinol and acetylpropionyl. The alkyl aldehydes are preferably the aidehydes containing from about 5 up to 12 carbon atoms. Especially preferred are n-pentanal, n-hexanal, nheptanal, 2,4-nonadienal, 2,4-decadienal, and 2,4- undecadienal. Conveniently, these aldehydes and/or ketones are employed at levels ranging from 0.01 up to 0.1 times the weight of the enzymatic egg digest used. The reaction between the sulfur-containing compound and the enzymatic egg digest is preferably carried out at reflux conditions (usually over C) at pressures of between 1 and 10 atmospheres for periods of times of from 0.2 up to 10 hours. It is to be emphasized that, generally, temperatures above 400C make the reaction difficult to control and may well produce uncharacteristic burnt notes even with very short reaction times (e.g., of the order of 10-20 minutes). Accordingly, it is preferred to carry out the reaction at temperatures of from 100 up to 350C; until the desired flavor development is achieved. As stated above, the heating periods may range from about 0.2 hours up to about 10 hours depending upon the heating method used.

The process can be carried out on a batch basis in small quantities of, for example, 50 to 100 grams or it can be carried out batchwise, semi-continuously, or continuously on much larger quantities of 500 kilograms or more.

In preparing the enzymatic digest of the poultry egg, a preferred ratio of enzyme to egg material (e.g., egg yolk, egg white or entire contents of egg) is from 0.1 up to 1 percent; preferably from 0.1 up to 0.4 percent. The weight percent of sulfur-containing compound based on enzymatic egg digest is from 1 up to 20 percent; preferably between 2 and 5 percent. Where it isdesired to use thiazole derivatives for the purpose of introducing additional flavor nuances into the product of our invention, the weight ratio of thiazole derivatives (e.g., thiamine hydrochloride) to sulfur-containing compounds is between 0.25:1 and 1:1; preferably 0.5:1. Where it is desired to use a saccharide material in the reaction mass in order to introduce still additional flavor nuances into the product of our invention, the weight-ratio of saccharide to sulfur-containing compound is between 1:100 and 1:3; preferably 1:6.

It should be noted that the presence of the saccharides in the reaction mass gives rise to a reaction product having somewhat more intense poultry meat flavor characteristics. Care should be exercised in utilizing such saccharides, however, since they may tend to contribute some burnt notes to the ultimate reaction product. When used, suitable results are obtained at levels ranging up to about 25 percent by weight based on the total weight of the reaction mass. Preferably the range is from 0.5 to 5 weight percent of the overall reaction mass. This range is further limited by the preferred ratio of saccharide to sulfur-containing compound.

Preferably, but not necessarily, a large weight excess of water or other reaction medium (e.g., beef fat, vegetable fat, chicken fat, duck fat, and fatty acid glycerides, such as Neobee M-S produced by the Drew Chemical Division of U.S. Filter Corporation or fish oil or mixtures of such fats and oils with water either in emulsified or non-emulsified forms) is used in preparing the enzymatic egg digest of our invention, although such excess is not essential. Varying amounts of water or fat or fish oil, for example from about 1:1 up to about :1 by weight based on the total weight of the remainder of the enzymatic egg digest can be used. In the case of aqueous mixtures after preparation of the enzymatic egg digest or after the subsequent reaction with the sulfur-containing compound the water can be at least partially evaporated to produce a solid or a semi-solid edible composition. When using triglyceride fats, the fatty acids predominantly range in carbon chain length from about carbon atoms up to about 22 carbon atoms. The term triglyceride fat will be understood to mean both fats and oils. It is preferred that the triglyceride fats be refined, bleached and deodorized. They can be in their natural form or they can be hydrogenated.

The quantity of reaction product utilized in the practice of our invention when added to a foodstuff can be varied to provide a wide range of poultry meat type flavors. At levels as low as 0.1 percent, the reaction product begins to impart a very light, almost undefinable sensation in aqueous solution. As the level is increased to 0.2 percent, a different pleasant poultry meat like character is imparted to an aqueous solution. As the level reaches 0.5 percent a definite, good characteristic poultry meat like flavor and aroma is obtained and this level persists up to levels of 2 percent and beyond, where the substance leaves a light, lingering after taste. At levels higher than 1 percent not only is the poultry meat-like flavor indistinguishable from the natural poultry meat flavors but the mouthfeel and texture provided by the reaction product of our invention are substantially identical to those properties provided by the natural poultry meat flavors. All parts, proportions, percentages and ratios herein are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

The reaction product of our invention can be added in pure form to foodstuffs or in admixture with other flavors and/or aroma imparting ingredients and/or in admixture with other nontoxic edible solvents (e.g., water, ethanol, wines and liqueurs), thickeners (e.g., starch paste) carriers and extenders (e.g., bread crumbs). The resulting mixtures may be used as such or may be further processed as by heating.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that regardless of the purity of the reactants used they should contain no noxious or noisome components which would interfere with the flavor conferred on foodstuffs or on its safety for use in edible materials.

It is contemplated herein that foodstuffs flavored according to this invention include both solid and liquid preparations for oral consumption by human beings and by animals particularly warm-blooded domestic animals, such as are used for pets or raised for consumption.

The products of this invention may be provided as dry solids, in liquid mixtures or in pastes. Preferably, they are prepared by heating the enzymatic egg digest with the sulfur-containing compound wherein the enzymatic egg digest is in admixture with water. The resulting end product may be used as such, or it may be concentrated for use. If solid products are desired, the same may be obtained by drying the liquid mixtures. The aqueous compositions are dehydrated by spraydrying although drum-drying, freeze-drying and other drying procedures are also applicable to the reaction product of our invention. A solid carrier is often added to the liquid mixture before drying.

When carrying out the spray-drying process which is the preferred drying process, we have found that carriers are useful in extending the flavor of our products when so prepared. These carriers do not diminish the quality of the flavor, but they stabilize it and increase the shelflife of the product. Polysaccharides having relatively complex structures such as gum arabic, gum tragacanth, gum karaya and guar gum and mixtures of same are useful, as are cellulose derivatives such as methyl cellulose and carboxy methyl cellulose or partially hydrolyzed starch such as dextrin, and the like.

In a preferred process, an aliquot of the liquid composition is dried and the flavor solids content of the composition determined. An amount of carrier substantially equal to the calculated solid content of the liquid composition is added thereto and the mixture dried, preferably by spray-drying. Alternatively, an amount of carrier substantially equal to the weight of original egg material. (on a dry or dehydrated weight basis) and sulfur-containing compound is added to the liquid composition after reaction of the ingredients and then dried. The preferred amounts of carrier are from 0.2:1 up to about 2:1 based on the solids content of the liquid mixture.

The following examples illustrate the manner in which we now prefer to practice our invention. lt is to be understood that this invention is not to be considered as limited thereto except as indicated in the appended claims. In the examples, the various ingredients are listed in parts by weight.

EXAMPLE I 1.5 Kilograms of chicken egg yolk powder is dissolved in 5.15 kilograms of water and the resulting solution is admixed with 7.5 grams papain for a period of 2 hours at a temperature of 65C with stirring. At the end of the 2-hour period, the resulting enzymatic digest is intimately admixed with 44 grams of cysteine hydrochloride and 22 grams of thiamine hydrochloride. The resulting mixture is then heated at reflux for a period of 4 hours. To 5 kilograms of the resulting product 2.22 kilograms of a 45 percent aqueous gum arabic solution is added. The resulting mixture is spray-dried to produce an excellent chicken flavor.

EXAMPLE II A chicken noodle soup is prepared by mixing together Ingredient Grams Salt 5.00 The spray dried flavor of Example 11 6.00 Gelatin (180 bloom) 1.00 Monosodium glutamate .40 Caramel color .40 Garlic powder .10 White pepper, ground .06 Mixed vegetable pieces 36.00

Three cups of water are added to the above mixture; and the mix is brought to a full boil, simmered for minutes, and is then ready to serve.

EXAMPLE III 0.85 Kilograms of the contents of whole fresh chicken eggs are admixed with 1.7 grams of papain with stirring for a period of 2 hours at a temperature of 65C. The resulting enzymatic digest is then intimately admixed with 12.75 grams of cysteine hydrochloride.

EXAMPLE IV A chicken noodle soup is prepared by mixing together:

Ingredient Grams Salt 5.00 The spray dried flavor of Example 1V 1.00 Gelatin (180 bloom) 1.00 Monosodium glutamate .40 Caramel color .40 Garlic powder .10 White pepper. ground .06 Mixed vegetable pieces 36.00

Three cups of water are added to the above mixture; and the mix is brought to a full boil, simmered for 5 minutes, and is then ready to serve.

EXAMPLE V In a pressurized scraped wall Giusti reaction vessel the following materials are introduced:

Chicken egg yolk powder 12 kg Water 41.2 kg Papain 0.06 kg The reactor is operated for a period of two hours at 65C after which 0.704 kg. of cysteine hydrochloride and 0.352 kg. of thiamine hydrochloride is added. The reaction vessel is operated for a period of 30 minutes at a temperature of 130C and at a pressure in the range of from 2 up to 3 atmospheres. The reaction mass is then cooled yielding a product having an excellent chicken flavor.

EXAMPLE VI 1.96 Kilograms of the contents of whole fresh turkey eggs is admixed with 4 grams of papain and the resulting mixture is heated with stirring at 65C for a period of 2 hours. The resulting enzymatic digest is admixed with 58.8 grams of cysteine hydrochloride and 29.4 grams of thiamine hydrochloride. The resulting mixture is refluxed at atmospheric pressure for a period of four hours with stirring. The resulting slurry is then cooled and filtered. 1.4 Kilograms of the filtrate is then intimately admixed with 623 grams of a 45 percent aqueous gum arabic solution and the resulting mixture is spray-dried. The resulting solid spray-dried material has an excellent natural-like turkey'meat flavor.

EXXAMPLE VII 1.6 Kilograms of the contents of whole fresh duck eggs is admixed with 3.2 grams of papain and the resulting mixture is stirred for a period of 2 hours at 65C. The resulting enzymatic digest is then admixed with 48 grams of cysteine hydrochloride and thiamine hydrochloride. The resulting mixture is then refluxed at atmospheric pressure for a period of four hours with stirring. The resulting slurry is then cooled to room tem' perature and filtered. 1.4 Kilograms of the resulting fil trate is then admixed with 778 grams of a 45 percent aqueous gum arabic solution and this mixture is spraydried, yielding 580 grams of a solid material having an excellent duck meat flavor.

EXAMPLE VIII A duck noodle soup is prepared by mixing together:

Ingredient Grams Salt 5.00 The spray dried flavor of Example Vlll 1.00 Gelatin bloom) 1.00 Monosodium glutamate .40 Caramel color .40 Garlic powder .10 White pepper, ground .06 Mixed vegetable pieces 36.00

Three cups of water are added to the above mixture; and the mix is brought to a full boil, simmered for 5 minutes, and is then ready to serve.

EXAMPLE IX EXAMPLE X The following ingredients are admixed to form a chicken soup concentrate:

Grams of the foregoing concentrate is admixed with 1 liter of water at a temperature of 85C. The resulting mixture is boiled for a period of 3 minutes yielding a flavorful chicken soup.

We claim:

1. A process for preparing an edible poultry-flavored composition comprising (A) intimately admixing in the absence of any natural meat or poultry meat products (i) a poultry egg product selected from the group consisting of enzymatic digest of the whole internal contents of poultry eggs and enzymatic digest of poultry egg yolk, with (ii) L-cysteine hydrochloride and (iii) thiamine, said poultry egg product, L-cysteine hydrochloride, and thiamine being present in amounts sufficient to produce a poultry flavor and (B) heating the resulting mixture at a temperature and for a period of time whereby a poultry-flavored product is produced.

2. An edible composition produced by the process of claim 1.

3. A process for the production of a poultry-flavored composition as defined in claim 1 which includes the further step of adding gum arabic to the poultry flavor and spray drying the resulting mixture.

4. The edible composition produced by process of claim 3. 

1. A PROCESS FOR PREPARING AN EDIBLE POULTRY-FLAVORED COMPOSITION COMPRISING (A) INTIMATELY ADMIXING IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY NATURAL MEAT OR POULTRY MEAT PRODUCTS (I) A POULTRY EGG PRODUCT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ENZYMATIC DIGEST OF THE WHOLE INTERNAL CONTENTS OF POULTRY EGGS AND ENZYMATIC DIGEST OF POULTRY EGG YOLK WITH (II) L-CYSTEINE HYDROCHLORIDE AND (III) THIAMINE, SAID POULTRY EGG PRODUCT, LCRYSTEINE HYDROCHLORIDE, AND THIAMINE BEING PRESENT IN AMOUNTS SUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE A POULTRY FLAVOR AND (B) HEATING THE RESULTING MIXTURE AT A TEMPERATURE AND FOR A PERIOD OF TIME WHEREBY A POULTRY-FLAVORED PRODUCTS IS PRODUCED.
 2. An edible composition produced by the process of claim
 1. 3. A process for the production of a poultry-flavored composition as defined in claim 1 which includes the further step of adding gum arabic to the poultry flavor and spray drying the resulting mixture.
 4. The edible composition produced by process of claim
 3. 